Illegal alien pleads guilty to federal charge (SCNow.com)

Illegal alien pleads guilty to federal charge

By SCNOW STAFF
Published: June 10, 2011

FLORENCE, SC -- An illegal alien living in Hartsville pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegal re-entry into the United States, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said in a press release issued Friday.

U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted the plea from 30-year-old Carlos Torruco-Ventura and will sentence him later. Torruco-Ventura faces a $250,000 fine and/or two years in prison, plus a special assessment of $100.

Torruco-Ventura was deported Nov. 6, 2003, after a traffic stop in Colorado. He was driving a van transporting 13 other undocumented aliens at the time. In December, Torruco-Ventura was arrested by Darlington County sheriff’s deputies and charged with committing or attempting lewd acts upon a child under the age of 16. Torruco-Ventura had not received permission to re-enter the United States at the time.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Day II of the Florence office handled the case, which also was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents.